Michael Dunlop picked up where he left off by claiming pole position for Saturday’s Superstock race at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix. 

Heavy mist resulted in a long delay of more than three hours at Dundrod on Thursday before a wheel was turned, but finally conditions improved sufficiently to allow the Superstock session to go ahead, with roads still damp.

Dunlop, riding his MD Racing BMW, headed the times with a lap of 121.625mph to claim pole by 1.535 seconds from Derek Sheils, who lapped at 120.779mph on his Shirlaw Kawasaki. 

The Ballymoney man set the fastest laps in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport sessions on Wednesday. 

Steve Mercer, standing in for the injured Ivan Lintin in the Devitt RC Express Kawasaki team, secured an excellent front row start as he slotted into third ahead of team-mate Jamie Coward, who has replaced Alan Bonner in the Bristol-based team, who was injured in a crash at the Southern 100.

Valvoline Padgetts Honda riders Conor Cummins and Bruce Anstey completed the top six, followed by last year’s runner-up Peter Hickman on the GBmoto Kawasaki and Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki). Dan Kneen (Mar-Train Yamaha) and Derek McGee on the NW BMW rounded out the top ten. 

Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson was down in 15th place while Gary Johnson, called into the East Coast Racing team as a late replacement Lee Johnston after the Fermanagh rider sustained a broken collarbone in a crash during Wednesday’s practice, was 14th fastest on the BMW S1000RR.

Michael Dunlop claimed pole position for the Superstock race at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix.

Kyle White

Lisburn & Castelreagh City Council Superstock Race

Ian Hutchinson (BMW)
Michael Dunlop (BMW) (+0.251)
Dan Kneen (Yamaha) (+6.850)

Bruce Anstey has edge for Supersport pole

Bruce Anstey was in classic form on the Valvoline Padgetts Honda as the fit-again Kiwi headed the Supersport session to bag pole for the MCE Ulster Grand Prix. 

Anstey, who was injured after a spill during practice for the Isle of Man TT, almost nudged 126mph as he fended off Ian Hutchinson on the Came BPT Yamaha to come out on top at Dundrod by 1.7 seconds. 

With light rain beginning to fall, the session was halted after around 20 minutes due to an incident at Flow Bog. 

Manx rider Conor Cummins put another of Clive Padgett’s Honda machines on the front row as he finished third fastest overall with a speed of 124.530mph. 

Bradford’s Dean Harrison was fourth fastest on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki with a lap of 124mph, while the second row is completed by William Dunlop on the IC Racing Yamaha and Peter Hickman (Trooper Beer Kawasaki). Michael Dunlop, dominant in the Superbike and Superstock sessions, qualified seventh on his MD Racing Yamaha ahead of Dan Kneen on the Mar-Train Yamaha. Paul Jordan from Magherafelt and Dan Cooper were the top ten. 

Gary Johnson’s lap of 121.701mph would have been good enough for ninth place on the grid, but the Lincolnshire rider only managed three laps in all on the East Coast/Burdens Triumph and is listed as a non-qualifier. 

Johnson has been drafted into Phil Reed’s team as a replacement for Northern Ireland’s Lee Johnston, who has been ruled out with a broken collarbone after a crash during practice on Wednesday.

Bruce Anstey on the Valvoline Padgetts Supersport Honda at Dundrod.

Kyle White

Michael Dunlop underlined his status as the red-hot favourite for Superbike glory at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix with a storming 131.783mph lap to seal pole for Saturday’s blue riband races. 

Long delays on Thursday due to heavy mist forced the organisers to shelve plans to run a Superpole qualifying session for the Superbike riders. 

With roads rapidly drying out, Dunlop began to up the tempo at Dundrod after Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson had set the early pace with a 130mph lap to lead from GBmoto Kawasaki’s Peter Hickman and Bruce Anstey on the Padgetts Honda RCV. 

Ballymoney man Dunlop, though, made a stop to change to slick tyres from intermediates and shortly afterwards powered to the summit with a lap of 130.188mph, knocking fierce rival Hutchinson back to second place. 

As the pace intensified, Hickman – last year’s Superbike race two winner – showed his hand with a speed of 131.06mph to take over by 1.3 seconds from Dunlop. 

However, as the clock ticked down during the 40-minute session, Dunlop timed his pole lap to perfection, lapping the 7.4-mile course at 131.783mph to take the top spot on the front row by 1.1 seconds from Hickman. 

The 27-year-old had earlier seized pole in the Superstock class on his MD Racing BMW. 

Anstey finished a close third after improving his speed to 130.220mph, with Hutchinson, Dean Harrison on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki and Honda Racing’s Conor Cummins the top six. 

Derek Sheils finished a solid seventh on the Cookstown B.E. Racing Suzuki ahead of Gary Johnson (East Coast/Burdens BMW), with William Dunlop on the MMB Yamaha and Dan Kneen (Mar-Train Yamaha) completing the first ten.

Michael Dunlop has claimed pole position in the Superbike class at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix.




Kyle White

Michael Dunlop (Hawk BMW) leads Bruce Anstey (Valvoline Padgetts Honda RCV) in the Dundrod 150 Superbike race.

Kyle White

Promoters of the MCE Ulster Grand Prix have confirmed that the Superpole session is planned to take place on the main race day on Saturday.

The new format qualifying session was originally meant to happen during Thursday’s Plant Lubrication (NI) Dundrod 150 races, but was cancelled due to difficult weather conditions.

The fastest 10 riders from Thursday’s MCE UGP Superbike qualifying will now take to the circuit during tomorrow’s racing schedule for a special timed event, battling for pole position in the two superbike races.

The session will consist of one individual warm up lap immediately followed by one individual flying lap for each of the top 10 Superbike riders.

Clerk of the Course Noel Johnston has stated however that Superpole will only run if conditions are suitable, and should it not the grid positions will be based on the results of Thursday’s practice sessions.


The top ten, who will contest the Superpole are:

1 – Michael Dunlop,
2 – Peter Hickman,
3 – Bruce Anstey,
4 – Ian Hutchinson,
5 – Dean Harrison,
6 – Conor Cummins,
7 – Derek Sheils,
8 – Gary Johnson,
9 – William Dunlop,
10 – Dan Kneen

Noel Johnston, Clerk of the Course said: 

“I am pretty determined to make this happen and I’d say most of the guys will be happy to get an extra couple of laps in prior to the main event of the day.

“The weather was against us on Thursday but my plan is to stage the Superpole after the second race in what I hope will be a thrilling pre-cursor to the Superbike races. Seeing some of the top boys pushing it on a flying lap of this amazing circuit will be a great spectacle,” he added.


Tickets for the MCE Insurance Ulster Grand Prix can be purchased at Topaz Airport Road Service Station or Whitemountain Centra Service Station and on the approach roads to the circuit. Roads close at 09.30 sharp. For full details visit ulstergrandprix.net.

Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson made it a treble of international road racing wins in the Superstock class at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix on Saturday. 

The Bingley Bullet got the better of fierce rival Michael Dunlop on a dramatic final lap to add to his wins in the class at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT this year. 

Manx rider Dan Kneen, who won the Superstock race at Dundrod in 2014, was an excellent third on the Mar-Train Yamaha R1. Peter Hickman had opened a gap of 2.5 seconds on the first lap after blasting into the lead on the GBmoto Kawasaki, but the British Superbike rider began to fall backwards and eventually withdrew in the pits at the end of lap two with a rear tyre puncture. 

Hutchinson, who started from 15th on the grid after practice was held in the damp on Thursday, had incredibly moved into the lead by the end of lap but Dunlop was soon on the move and had taken the lead on lap three. 

The two BMW riders began to pull away at the front from Kneen in third to set up a battle on the final laps but it was Hutchinson who prevailed, overhauling Dunlop on the last lap by the time they reached Jordan’s Cross and holding his nerve to take his first Ulster GP win since 2010. 

Behind the top three, Dean Harrison claimed fourth on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki ahead of Conor Cummins (Valvoline Padgetts Honda), with Gary Johnson an excellent sixth on the East Coast/Burdens BMW. 

Dublin rider Derek Sheils (Shirlaw Kawasaki) and Steve Mercer (Devitt RC Express Kawasaki) were the top eight. Neil Kernohan crashed at Wheelers but escaped serious injury.

Flying Kiwi Bruce Anstey celebrated his 12th MCE Ulster Grand Prix victory in the opening Supersport race at Dundrod on Saturday. 

Pole man Anstey quickly opened a lead of two seconds after setting a hot pace on the opening laps, making the most of his experience after light rain showers had left the 7.4-mile course patchy in places. 

However, Ian Hutchinson soon hit his stride when the track rapidly began to dry out, and slashed Anstey’s advantage to 0.8 seconds. 

The English rider was poised to throw down a challenge, but the race was red-flagged due to an incident at Joey’s on the fourth lap involving Olie Linsdell, who escaped serious injury. 

The result was declared based on positions at the end of lap four, with Anstey taking the win from Hutchinson (Came BPT Yamaha). Manx rider Conor Cummins narrowly claimed third on the Valvoline Padgetts Honda ahead of Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki). William Dunlop finished fifth on the IC Racing Yamaha ahead of Peter Hickman (Trooper Beer Kawasaki), with southern Irish rider Derek McGee (Yamaha) and Christian Elkin (Triumph) the top eight. 

Michael Dunlop was a retirement on his MD Racing Yamaha.

Kyle White

Ian Hutchinson wins feature Superbike race at Dundrod

Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson clinched a magnificent victory in a sizzling feature Superbike race at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix on Saturday. 

It was Hutchinson’s second win of the day following his triumph earlier in the Superstock race over Michael Dunlop. 

The Bingley Bullet was pushed all the way by Bruce Anstey on the Valvoline Padgetts Honda RCV following a gripping encounter, with Dunlop third on the Hawk BMW. 

Ballymoney man Dunlop went into the race as the favourite after dominating the class this year at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, but his chances of completing a clean sweep of the main Superbike races was halted by the in-form Hutchinson. 

The Yorkshire rider battled it out with Anstey at the front with Dunlop in hot pursuit. 

Peter Hickman had also been in contention on his GBmoto Kawasaki until he retired with a problem on lap five at Wheelers. Before then, Hickman set the fastest lap of the race at 133.892mph, which was just shy of Anstey’s 2010 lap record of 133.977mph. 

Anstey, Hutchinson and Dunlop continued to battle it out at the front but when the trio encountered slower riders on the final lap, Dunlop dropped back and finished three seconds back in third at the finish. 

Hutchinson managed to hold Anstey at bay as the duo went head to head, securing his seventh Ulster GP win and his first victories at Dundrod since 2010. 

Ramsey rider Conor Cummins finished fourth on the Honda Racing Fireblade ahead of Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) and Dan Kneen (Mar-Train Yamaha). William Dunlop was seventh on the MMB Yamaha ahead of Steve Mercer (Devitt RC Express Kawasaki).

Kyle White

Ian Hutchinson roars to four-timer with 134mph lap record

Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson dominated the MCE Ulster Grand Prix with a magnificent four-timer, setting a scorching new outright lap record in excess of 134mph on a famous day at Dundrod. 

The Bingley Bullet completed a double in the Superbike class as he again had the edge over Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop in race two, saving his best until last with a searing speed of 134.089mph on the final lap. 

Hutchinson’s blazing effort finally surpassed Anstey’s 2010 record as he claimed the man of the meeting award with another hard-earned win. 

The 37-year-old had earlier won the feature Superbike race, plus the Superstock and second Supersport races as he stole the limelight at the last of the big three international road races. 

Anstey, riding the Valvoline Padgetts Honda RC213V-S MotoGP machine, and Hawk BMW rider Dunlop tried all they could to halt Hutchinson’s winning streak, but the English star came out on top to win by 0.8 seconds from Anstey, with Dunlop 1.2 seconds behind in third. Conor Cummins finished fourth on the Honda Racing Fireblade ahead of Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) and Mar-Train Yamaha’s Dan Kneen. Peter Hickman, who was riding his Superstock Kawasaki after his Superbike developed a problem in the first race, finished seventh for the GBmoto Kawasaki team, while Gary Johnson slotted into eighth on the East Coast/Burdens BMW. 

Hutchinson earlier sealed a hat-trick with a stunning last-gasp pass on long-time race leader William Dunlop in the second Supersport event. 

Dunlop led for most of the way on his IC Racing Yamaha but Hutchinson snatched the lead on the last lap at Quarry Bends, denying the Ballymoney rider a coveted international win by only one tenth of a second. 

Burton-on-Trent rider Hickman came through to pip race one winner Anstey for the last place on the rostrum as he took third on the Trooper Beer Kawasaki. 

Cummins and Harrison were the top six. 

Dan Cooper won a thrilling Supertwins race from Derek Sheils and James Cowton, with Paul Jordan from Magherafelt in fourth. 

The Ultra-Lightweight race was won by Christian Elkin on Bob Wylie’s Moto3 machine from Sam Wilson and Paul Robinson on the Joey’s Bar 125cc Honda bikes, with Gary Dunlop fourth on his Ulster Grand Prix debut. 

Neil Kernohan won the Lightweight race on his 250cc Honda convincingly from Davy Morgan and Darryl Tweed.